I must take a moment to report that science writer Simon Singh experienced a very encouraging day at the Court of Appeal yesterday, in a pre-trial hearing on the meaning of words in his 2008 Guardian article for which the British Chiropractic Association are suing him for libel.

Before dipping into the positives, it’s worth repeating some cautionary words from Singh himself, who last night pointed out that ”we are still at a preliminary stage of identifying the meaning of my article. It could easily take another two years before the case is resolved”. However, all the accounts from yesterday’s hearing suggest the case could finally have taken an encouraging turn. The hearing was presided over by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, the Master of the Rolls, Lord Neuberger and Lord Justice Sedley, which Index on Censorship calls “one of the most high-powered panels of judges ever to preside on a single case”, and according to legal blogger Jack of Kent, “the British Chiropractic Association’s case received a sustained battering by three of the most senior appeal judges in England, all of whom made favourable reference to the need for scientific debate”.

The panel reserved judgement until a later date, but accounts from those present in court suggest that they were sympathetic to Singh’s case. Encouraging words came from the Lord Chief Justice, who stated that he was “surprised” that “the opportunities to put this right have not been taken”, for instance the BCA not taking up the offer of a right to reply in the Guardian. According to Index on Censorship, he stated that “At the end of this someone will pay an enormous amount of money, whether it be from Dr Singh’s funds or the funds of BCA subscribers.”

http://blog.newhumanist.org.uk/2010/02/encouraging-day-in-court-for-simon.html